-1231- A big mistake

Like Oreki Yuuri, the rest of the classes seem to have mentioned the <Seven Stars Sword Art Festival> in the first class of the new semester, so after this class, the atmosphere throughout the academy became lively.

"Are you planning to abstain?"

"Ugh... I'm still considering..."

"Although it doesn't affect grades, abstaining casually might make others look down on you."

"But winning more than ten battles to qualify as a representative isn't easy either, right?"

"No need to say. There are only six slots for the entire school, so it can't be easy, right?"

"This year, two A-rank knights also enrolled."

"I heard the student council president is also super strong, so she'll probably take one slot."

"The other members of the student council seem strong too."

"And there are many famous student knights in Hagun Academy."

"It's impossible to defeat them."

"Plus, there's no rule that says we have to use illusionary forms. I'm not really keen on participating."

"Yeah."

Throughout the morning, students all over the academy kept discussing this topic enthusiastically.

Rozen and Ikki also talked about this during break time, and now, during lunch break, they occupied a corner with some good food and discussed the <Seven Stars Sword Art Festival>.

"You've already decided to participate, right?"

Rozen mentioned casually while eating.

"Yes, I will participate."

Ikki's answer was without any hesitation, and he even took out the student handbook and started looking up information on the school's official website.

"Although some of last year's representative have graduated, a group of strong individuals, led by the student council president, are still here in the academy. Plus, this year's freshmen are much stronger than last year's. There are several high-ability students in the first year, so everyone needs to be careful."

Ikki kept checking various student information, focusing as much as when he's practicing swordsmanship.

Rozen could also understand Ikki's feelings.

"Last year, because of the relationship between the Kurogane family and the former chairman, Kurogane didn't even get a chance to participate in the competition."

The new policy adopted by Shinguji Kurono this year is an opportunity that Ikki has been waiting for a whole year, but it's also a year late.

Since that's the case, Ikki naturally cannot help but be invested and focused.

However, those who are invested and focused are not only Ikki.

"So, you're hiding in a place like this? You're really easy to find!"

With this remark, the red-haired princess arrived in front of Rozen and Ikki.

However, the first thing Rozen and Ikki noticed was not each other, but what the princess held in her hand.

"Bang!"

With a loud noise, a tray filled with all kinds of dishes was heavily placed on the table in front of Rozen and Ikki.

It was indeed a tray filled with all kinds of dishes.

If calculated by portion, the dishes piled on the tray would require the appetites of at least four or five hungry young people to finish. Thus, from the surface, it looked like a small mountain of food, leaving Rozen and Ikki stiff-faced on the spot.

"The student cafeteria here is quite good. You can basically order whatever you want, and the portions are generous, so you don't have to worry about going hungry."

Stella Vermillion, who brought this ferocious mountain of food, sat down happily without realizing what an astonishing feat she had just performed.

Rozen and Ikki exchanged glances and stood up at the same time.

"Um... Are all these dishes for your highness?" Ikki asked with a hint of courage.

Ikki unconsciously used polite language, not because the other party was a princess, but because he couldn't help it.

Stella completely didn't notice this point.

"It's okay, you don't have to use honorifics. I'm not here to show off. Just treat me like an ordinary person. You can call me Stella," Stella unexpectedly said without any airs, just a hint of confusion in her tone. "What's wrong? Is there something strange?"

"Isn't it strange if there isn't?" Rozen couldn't help but speak up. "Could it be that you really intend to eat all of this by yourself?"

"Yeah." Stella looked at Rozen with a strange expression, then said after a moment, "If I didn't intend to eat it, I wouldn't have ordered it. I don't waste food."

With that said, Stella indeed began to reach out, eating with very natural movements, bit by bit.

Surprisingly, Stella ate quite quickly. In just a few rounds, the small mountain of food in front of her had decreased significantly.

Moreover, Stella's speed didn't slow down at all, continuing to eat without pause.

Seeing this, it seemed that Princess Stella really had the ability to eat all of these things.

"...I suddenly feel full."

"I... I feel the same..."

Rozen and Ikki put down their chopsticks with complex expressions, completely losing their appetites.

"You guys eat so little, be careful of going hungry tonight."

Stella seemed to kindly remind them, seemingly having suffered in this regard, making Rozen and Ikki's expressions even more complicated.

Seeing Stella eating more and more enthusiastically, Rozen couldn't help but change the subject and attention.

"By the way, Princess, what's the matter with you looking for us?"

The princess shouldn't have come here just to eat with acquaintances, right?

As an A-rank knight who attracts a lot of attention in the academy, and also the princess of the Vermillion Empire, there are countless people curious about Stella. She doesn't need to worry about finding someone to eat with.

As expected...

"Right, I'm here to tell you something."

Stella looked at Rozen as if remembering something important.

Seeing this, Ikki understood that Stella had come for Rozen.

As for why, it's not difficult to guess.

"If we meet in the selection battle, this time, you must give it your all when facing me. That's why I'm here."

Stella made this request to Rozen.

Presumably, Stella had been wanting to say this for a long time, right?

Last time, in the chairman's office, the duel between the two ended with one move determining the outcome.

In terms of the result, there was no time for Stella to exert her full strength, let alone Rozen, who only used one move from start to finish. It was too dull to call it a duel.

This time, Stella secretly vowed to force Rozen to use his full strength and let him see her true power.

She absolutely won't let the same carelessness happen again.

Stella came here to make this declaration.

Unfortunately, Stella made a mistake.

A big mistake.

Meet in the selection battle?

"Don't worry, that won't happen."

Rozen spoke without hesitation.

"Because I don't have any intention of participating in the <Seven Stars Sword Art Festival>."